Deputy AG denies plotting to oust Trump

Deputy Attorney General of the United States (US) Rod Rosenstein has denied a report that he discussed invoking a constitutional clause to oust President Donald Trump.

The New York Times reported that Rosenstein discussed recruiting members of Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment of the American Constitution, which provides for the removal of a president if he is deemed unfit for office.

The newspaper claimed too, that he suggested secretly recording Trump to expose what he described as turmoil and dysfunction in the White House.

The report, which cited unnamed sources briefed on the events, claimed the suggestions were made during meetings and conversations in May 2017 with officials in the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

But Rosenstein, the second most senior law enforcement official in the US, said the allegation was "inaccurate and factually incorrect".

"I will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the department and are advancing their own personal agenda,” he said in statement.

"But let me be clear about this, based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th amendment," he added.

Trump, speaking at a rally in Missouri late yesterday, said there was a "lingering stench" about what was being exposed at the US Justice Department.

He said he would “get rid of it just as his administration had gotten rid of bad people at the FBI".

The New York Times revealed that the source of the allegations are memos created by Andrew McCabe, the former acting director of the FBI, who was fired by Trump in March this year.

But McCabe's attorney, Michael Bromwich, said his client "has no knowledge of how any member of the media obtained those memos".

According to Bromwich, the memos were turned over to the Special Counsel who is investigating possible Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and obstruction of justice.

He revealed, too, that another copy of the memo had remained with the FBI.